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The Goddess of Permafrost: Iqwha
The Goddess of Permafrost: Iqwha = The Goddess of Permafrost, alternatively known as the Ice Goddess, embodies every personification of the literal element - cold, resolute, and powerful yet beautiful, light, and protective. She is one of many of Jasmine and Esmerelda's offspring, though her place is among the lesser known as befitting of her element. Iqhwa presides over domains of the cold and ice, ranging from desolate tundras and snow-capped peaks, to arctic oceans and wintry seasons. Scholars and historians alike have formulated a speculation of her subservient nature to her eldest sister Enigma, the Goddess of Order and Balance. Throughout history, Iqhwa descended upon the lands and brought forth eras of ice anywhere from months or even decades at a time and most coincidentally when few civilizations grew far too large to simply be controlled by their own kind. However, her benevolence has disputed many of these claims time and time again. For those who pay homage to her, they are gifted with the incredible resilience to the frigid cold and are blessed with the skills and strength needed to survive the harsh elements. = Face of Ice, Soul of Ice ''' = Iqhwa has never fully revealed her true form on the mortal plane, her image blurred by the strongest of blizzards. Those who have suffered and lived through these powerful tempests depict an earthly-skinned woman garbed in tassels of snowflakes and ice crystals. Even fewer have been granted a clearer image of her - eyes reflecting the colors of glaciers and shaped sharper than icicles with silken, billowing hair as light as the sun that reflects off the smooth surface of ice. Iqhwa is typically seen as a distant, isolated goddess with a deeply embedded distaste of the mortals in Simone's domain. Many find the ends of her cold spells a welcome relief and pray to those responsible for the coming of warmer and more favorable weather, however some attributed those ends to her kind heart easing the pain and sorrow of loss at the pleading of her siblings. Those who have been blessed by her are gifted the ability of controlling ice as its ally as she fiercely protects her charges with an unshakable dedication. = '''Crystalline Lilies = Among some of the rarest flora in the world, the crystalline lilies are the least known among the common populace, but the most prized by eccentric billionaires, residents of her domains, and the very, very fortunate. Where she treads, patches of these everlasting flowers grow and those who pluck it from its stems are either granted her favor or forever entombed in a prison of ice depending on their intent. Very few exist in Gaia today, even those dwelling in her frigid environment treasure their appearances. They are a testament to her good-will towards the fragility of life and her determination in preserving the delicate beauty that lasts only a brief moment in time. = Sesimuj, Lah'mit, and Mauve Newly discovered texts reveal that Iqhwa abandoned her aspect for one night for her older sister, the Goddess of the Weave. "When our dear Mother, Lah'mit, entered the Nine Nights of Darkness, the first thing she sought was not the comforts of her people, nor the lands she once blessed with life. It was her sister, Iqhwa, the Goddess of Winters. She shed the cold she wrapped herself with and gave our mother the First Soul. The next morning she came to us, with a bouquet of the most beautiful flowers we saw in our lives, and wept. '' '''For your loss, I will give you beauty. For your devotion, I will watch. For your strength, she will be our bond.' And thus the First Soul, Mauve, rose." Further indications of her connection to Lah'mit are found in the southeasternmost island of Namibia, where resides her daughter Mauve.